Catpurr 19: Guild Master Valentine

“Pull! Pull! Use your forearm strength!” “I’m trying!” “Well try harder!” “GAAAAAAH!” “Ladies and gentlemen! Another failure! Excalibur remains sealed in stone! Come one! Come all, test your strength for only ONE silver and get a free HOLY sword if you can free it from the earth!” - Adventurer Rochester, hosting a strong man competition to see who is worthy of the mysterious blade from Heaven. Catpurr 19: Guild Master Valentine


Drying himself with a towel that had been laid out, Adam’s catsification curse finally dispelled, returning his stats back to normal.

Eyeing the clothes, Adam inspected each article, realizing that each piece seemed to fit him purrfectly, almost as if someone had measured him in his sleep. Which was impossible, considering everytime Ruebelle came to check up on him throughout the night he had woken up, spying the woman peeking down at him.

Still, it didn’t change the fact that his clothes fit nicely. Reaching over, Adam put the final ensemble on, the black cloak, making sure to cover his fluffy ears as he eyed himself in the mirror.

So this is me now…

Looking away from his reflection, Adam pulled up his quest menu, spying the next trial.

[Trial 4] [MANDATORY QUEST!] [Receive the Ticket of The Abyssal Tower!] [Possible Rewards: EXP 500, Copper Pieces x50, Cicero’s Gacha Coin x1, Minor Health Potion x1, Minor Mana Potion x1] [FAILURE: DEATH!] [You have seven days to complete the task!] [159:56:20]

Adam sighed, another life or death quest. He wasn't quite sure what the Abyssal tower was or where he'd get a ticket, but he'd soon find out, one way or another. Reaching over, Adam grabbed the gilded bell Ruebella had left for him off the bathroom counter.

Ringing it twice, he stood at the foot of the wooden door, waiting until the receptionist appeared, beckoning Adam toward her. She fidgeted with his hood, making sure his ears were properly covered.

“S-s-stay by my side, ok?” Rubella instructed with Adam nodding and taking her hand.

Satisfied with the response, Adam was led through the guild halls, passing through a spruce covered corridor and a flight of stairs before entering through a door that led to the main foyer.

The door opened, and Immediately Adam was hit with noise, light, and the obnoxious smell of booze and cigarettes. There were dozens of them, nearly a hundred men and women in various suits of armor and clothes. Mages, warriors, rangers, and rogues, each drinking merrily, making bets, or standing in front of a large billboard that held dozens of fliers. Around the room, there were several maids dressed just like Ruebella, six of them by Adam’s count. They moved to and fro, serving food, carrying paperwork, and even handing out goods and inspecting materials adventurers had brought in.

Feeling oddly claustrophobic from so many faces in one area, Adam froze. “This w-way.” Ruebella beckoned, ushering Adam along to a stairwell with a sign that read STAFF ONLY!

Recovering, Adam followed along, making his way up the stairs, and down a red rugged hallway, walking until he and Ruebella came to the end of the corridor where a large golden door sat.

“T-the guild master will ask you q-questions. Just a-answer t-them truthfully o-ok?” Ruebella said with Adam nodding as she opened the door.

He walked through, with three pairs of eyes immediately fixating on him. The scrawny man with the coffin on his back, the green-haired mage, and finally, the muscular man who was flexing his biceps in front of a large rounded mirror.

"Take a seat." The woman with raven-colored-hair spoke, not bothering to look up from the mountain of paperwork that surrounded her ornate desk.

Adam looked over to Ruebella, the woman gesturing to the leather chair that sat parallel to who Adam presumed was the guild master.

Shuffling over to the chair, the woman handed a piece of paper to the green-haired woman beside her, the same woman that had catnapped him. Reading the script, the lady frowned as the scrawny man beside her began to openly weep.

“Child, where are your parents?” The guild master said, finally looking up at Adam with her purple irises glowing.

[The Gaze of Truth Sees through your lies.]

Adam momentarily seized up, the effects of a skill and it's message washing over him. Yet oddly, nothing happened.

"I'm an orphan." Adam replied truthfully, gazing back into the woman's dark eyes.

"Where did you come from?"

"I don't know."

"Are you lying?"

"No." At Adam's words the woman narrowed her eyes. "How did you get here?"

"I don't-" Before Adam could say he didn't know, his words suddenly choked, twisting until he spat out. "I came out of a portal!"

The skill forces me to speak the truth?! Adam began to inwardly panic, his breathing coming out uneven as he oddly started to sweat.

At his words, the group shared looks before eyeing Adam.

"Who sent you?" The Guild Master asked, her fingers twirling the pen she was using to write.

"I…" Adam huffed out, unsure of what to say. It's not like he could just openly admit that some being borderlining divinity had dropped him here on a whim.

"I don't know." Adam replied, technically, a truth. He didn't know who had teleported him, for all he knew Eli was outsourcing everything to a minion who was screwing with him.

"Why are you here?" The woman asked, with Adam feeling as though he were burning up.

"Mistress Valentine, maybe we shouldn't press him so hard? He's just a child." The Green haired woman said, with the man named Arnold chiming in. "Dearie, I concur with Titania, he is just a boy."

"Silence." Valentine said, raising a hand as she repeated her question.

Unable to resist her skill, Adam answered truthfully. "I'm here to grab a ticket to the Abyssal Tower."

At his words the guild master froze, dropping her pen on the desk as everyone around her went wide-eyed with horrified looks.

"Why are you here?" The woman repeated, this time with furrowed brow and skepticism as she leaned forward.

Adam repeated his reply, causing the Ruebella to lift her hand to her mouth and even Arnold to deflate.

"Boy." Valentine whispered. "Do you even know what you're looking for?"

"No." Adam dry swallowed, the heat becoming near unbearable.

"Do you know what the Abyssal Tower is?"

"No."

"Why do you want a ticket?"

"Because I have to, otherwise I'll die and won't be able to save my friend!" Adam cried, his head hung low, unable to take the heat of the woman's skill. At his confession the sensation stopped, with the clicking of heels touching the floor in front of him.

The Guild master crouched down, taking Adam's face into her hand where she brought his eyes to meet hers. "Who told you about the tower?"

"N-n-no one. I have a quest…" Adam whispered. At the reply Valentine moved in a flurry, yanking the shirt off of Adam who was too weak to react.

Valentine's eyes widened, spying the circular sigil on Adam's back who was unaware of the marks' existence on his shoulder blade.

"Impossible…no.." Valentine backed away, her expression shifting to suddenly furious. "Out! Everyone OUT! Now! Ruebella!"

"Y-yes ma'am!"

"Find him a room, I don't care who you have to kick out. Do it. Titania, Sehn. Since you brought him here, you'll be responsible for him." Valentine said, sitting back at her desk and going over her paperwork. "Make sure he knows exactly what he's looking for and the consequences of what he wants."

""Yes ma'am."" The duo beside her replied, quickly moving toward Adam.

"C'mon lad. Let's go." The scrawny man named Sehn said, taking a confused Adam away with Titania in tow. *** Watching the group leave, Valentine sighed as Arnold began massaging her shoulders. She reached over, touching the man's massive hand that comforted her.

"A child this time." Valentine's expression twisted. "Why are the gods so cruel?"

"I'll make sure he's as comfortable as possible dear." Arnold said, hugging his wife. "Please do." Valentine whispered, kissing Arnolds hand before he left. As the door shut, she reached down, opening a drawer to reveal a purple slip. She took it out, staring at the piece of paper with a seal in the shape of a burning star with three dozen tiny hole punches in it. Her Abyssal Ticket. Notched at floor thirty-six. Besides herself, she could only count on two hands the number of people that had made it as far, two of which were in her employ.

She closed her eyes, thinking about all the “Chosen” that had passed through here. All the lives she never saw again. At first glance, she suspected the boy was one of them, seeing as he was a demi-human so far away from any known tribe and didn’t understand the language, it could only mean one thing.

Either he was an escaped slave from Lady Vilenciel’s menagerie, or, he was another soul spurred on by the threat of death to search for the abyss. Either way, both spelled bad news. The latter for the boy, and the other for the guild.

Although slavery was illegal, it was no secret what the daughter of the Duchess did in her free time to demi-humans, and with Purist ideology spreading, many were keen to turn a blind eye to avoid the fury of the doting Duchess.

Valentine hung her head low, a headache forming.

“Maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t ask for his name.” Valentine sighed, wondering if she should have gotten a better look at his tattoo to figure out which god was so callous.